We also had loads of side dishes: poke (raw fish), edamame (soy beans), toss salad, dinner rolls, etc. Too much food! We were so stuffed!

Can’t forget the wines! The Stella Berry and the peach Moscato paired well with our feast.

And this glory- pumpkin/custard pie! All in one- yummy!

The stuffing was very simple to make. You need the following ingredients:

Stove Top stuffing mix OR any stuffing mix of your choice. I used Love’s Bakery’s stuffing mix this year.

Celery

Carrots

Chopped olives

Onions

Craisins or raisins

Pine nuts (optional, which I forgot to add this year)

Chicken broth

Sauté the celery, carrots, and onions together with either olive oil or butter. Let that cool. Mix stuffing mix, chopped olives, craisins/raisins, and pine nuts together. Throw in the sautéed veggies and mix together. Drizzle some chicken broth. Cover with foil, bake at 350° for 30-45mins. I like my stuffing loose and crunchy.

Happy Thanksgiving, All! I wish you and your loved ones a blessed day to celebrate amongst yourselves, with food, joy, and laughter!

Just a preview of tonight’s menu… I was busy in the kitchen last night, cookin’ up some creamy mashed potatoes, blueberry/cranberry sauce, and prepping ingredients for the stuffing (which I will make tonight). My dad’s cooking the rest of the entrées: the big bird, ham, and yam. Mmm! This is the usual Thanksgiving dinner for my family and I. Not to mention the sides: dinner rolls, poke (raw fish), edamame (soy beans)…

I was inspired by The Pioneer Woman herself, Ree Drummond, to attempt making a different style of mashed potatoes this year. I added these three ingredients to make it extra rich, creamy, and special: half-and-half, whipping cream, and cream cheese. I don’t think I’m ever going back to making mashed potatoes like I used to. These three ingredients changed the texture of the dish! So good!

Here is the recipe! It’s so simple, and you can add more of these ingredients if you please! I never follow recipes to-the-tee!

Boiled a bunch of potatoes. I bought a 20lb bag from Costco last weekend. I’m down to a few potatoes left- haha!

The ingredients to add to the mashed potatoes!

And of course, you need to have seasoning!!

Bam! There ya go! Creamy and rich! You can’t even taste the cream cheese (for those who don’t care for it).

Next, I made my blueberry/cranberry sauce. When I was growing up, I was always curious to know how fresh, homemade cranberry sauce is made. In the past, we had family friends make a container for us, or we would buy the canned sauce. NEVER AGAIN with the canned sauce- haha! It’s got to be fresh! A couple years ago, I finally decided to start the tradition in making my own sauce for the season. My family loved it; even those who didn’t like cranberry sauce.

I was inspired by two different recipes, but I stuck with this one: as simple as can be! All you need is cranberries, blueberries, sugar, and good ol’ OJ!

There ya go! So simple, yet so good!

Maybe next year, I’ll try spiking it??? Hehe! We’ll see. I should make two batches, in case the experimental one doesn’t turn out, haha!

Another post to come after the complete meal is prepared, which will include my stuffing.

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with loved ones. This year, I decided to make my first ever cranberry-blueberry sauce to go with our delicious turkey my dad cooked. I added blueberries, some OJ, and a hint of cinnamon to be creative and change up the traditional cranberry sauce recipe. It came out great! My family enjoyed it! This has been added to the annual Thanksgiving menu, along with my stuffing!!! Yay!

Food for thought: Blueberries and cranberries are high in antioxidants- whoo hoo! And did you know that cranberries bounce? How cool is that?!